On Media

David Simon: Riots affront to Gray's memory

By DYLAN BYERS

04/27/2015 06:59 PM EDT

David Simon, the veteran Baltimore Sun journalist and creator of HBO's "The Wire," says the rioting and looting that took place in Baltimore on Monday was "an affront" to the memory of Freddie Gray, the 25-year-old black man who died of a spinal injury after being detained by the police.

"Yes, there is a lot to be argued, debated, addressed. And this moment, as inevitable as it has sometimes seemed, can still, in the end, prove transformational, if not redemptive for our city," Simon wrote on his blog as cars burned in the streets of Baltimore and rioters looted stores. "Changes are necessary and voices need to be heard. All of that is true and all of that is still possible, despite what is now loose in the streets."

"But now — in this moment — the anger and the selfishness and the brutality of those claiming the right to violence in Freddie Gray’s name needs to cease," Simon continued. "There was real power and potential in the peaceful protests that spoke in Mr. Gray’s name initially, and there was real unity at his homegoing today. But this, now, in the streets, is an affront to that man’s memory and a dimunition of the absolute moral lesson that underlies his unnecessary death."

"If you can’t seek redress and demand reform without a brick in your hand, you risk losing this moment for all of us in Baltimore," he wrote. "Turn around. Go home. Please."

The riot began on Monday afternoon and has so far resulted in the injury of at least seven police officers, according to Baltimore Police Capt. Eric Kowalczyk. Kowalczyk vowed to put those responsible for the injuries in jail.

Simon spent 12 years at The Baltimore Sun and created and produced "The Wire," an 2002-08 serieson HBO that depicted modern-day crime and police activity in Baltimore.